Alec Parkin gave a lecture expressing the importance of keeping a folder with good topology so that you are able to keep going back to it in the future when you have to do face modeling and when keeping a good topology in your models in general. I found that creating a pinterest board helped me greatly in researching about facial anatomy and topology for my 3D head model. Below you can see my findings;
Tag: research
Animated Short: Music and Foley Effects
Music is very important within animation and we were stressed by our tutors that you should always do the music first, this is because if you were to listen to your music on its own and found that it didn’t tell your animation through sound then it would definitely not work for you animation and things would need to be changed for it to work.
Since Falling for You is set in the French Alps it only made sense that the music would be french, this would also contribute to the fact of our short animation being of a romantic and cute theme, so it would suit it well. Since it needed to be French themed music I remembered I had watched The Little Prince, which is a really great animation with a great story that I highly recommend to anyone. The Little Prince is originally french so they had a very french theme to their music which I found would be perfect for our animation. The music for The Little Prince was worked of the great Hans Zimmer, Richard Harvey and Camille.
I also watched The Dam Keeper which is another amazing short animation that I absolutely love and would recommend to anyone. I loved the music for this animation too and though it had some really lovely rythm. This tribute to the animation made by one of my favourite band Phox made their take on one of the animations theme songs;
Robert also suggested Sixpence None the Richers song Kiss Me due to the accordion in it and the simplicity to the tune.
We also looked into Foley effects, which is a reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films to enhance the audio and portray the sound that is being made. This video by Filmmaker IQ explains foley and sound effects really well;
For the animation we new we would need ice skating sounds for when the birds skate on the ice so we took scissors and ran them across different materials to get the desired noise that we were looking for. We also sat around making noises through our mouth to see who could do the best noise for the characters and different sound effects, like a whooshing sound, giggles, deep breath, jumping and more. There were many sounds that we recorded that didn’t make it but it was important that we tried them anyway or we wouldn’t have known what would’ve worked best for those particular scene. I caught some pictures of Michelle and Robert doing some of the sounds which was a lot of fun to do;
Robert has a brother that plays guitar so Robert worked together with him to get our desired music that we felt suited our animation best. We ended up with two music pieces that we used for our animation and ending credits which was perfect for our animation Falling for You. Since we had done the music first it really made it easier for us to animate our scenes.
Head Model: Face Topology Plan
Step one to doing a good head model is by getting a good photo of myself in front and side profile and they HAVE to line up or you’re going to do a lot of guess work but luckily having a mirror in front of you will help in this situation, good think my desk is a vanity and have a missive mirror in front of it with flapping mirror parts at the side so I can also see the different angles in my face. Getting a good picture was kind of difficult, I feel like my head naturally tilted to the left but it felt natural to me when I was sitting there, maybe my posture is just bad?
However after many failed photos later and retakes, because it didn’t end up lining up in Autodesk Maya no matter how much I tilted of squished the picture, I got these ones down below which still kind of don’t line up because of my tilty head and not and exact side profile, but I decided to work with it with the help of my.
Alec Parkin said that he preferred that you do it low poly so that he is able to see the topology clearly. Taking this into consideration on how I wanted to do my head model I began my research. I looked a lot at character artist Tom Parker‘s work which is amazing, he gave some really good images of good topology as seen below, this was very helpful.
I then moved on to sketching out topology on my own face to help me along the way. I tried to keep it fairly low poly, I hope I have done this right.
I then looked at defining features on my own face that I should consider when creating my face model so that it looks more like me. You can see this in the below image;
I thought that sketching out my head would also be very useful as I would get a feel for how my face flow and it really shows me how much of a grumpy face I have due to my features hahah, moving on. This took me back to my GCSE and A-Level art days as I always chose projects that required me drawing faces which I quite enjoy.
New Narratives: proposals and time management
Today we presented our ideas for the 30 second animation and it went down well. They said that they liked our idea and that we are on a good path. Especially by keeping our characters simple, as well as having a cute story.
From the beginning we knew that time management would be key to completing this animation and being able to balance everything on top of that, while also taking into consideration the fact that there may be times where there are trails and errors that will hold us back or even life events so we will need to make a schedule to suit this.
Our choice of time management service was Asana, its worked in some groups and failed in others, but its really up to the team all contributing and sticking to it, if we plan it well and work together, it will definitely work in our favour.
I believe that our team will be able to do this as we are all conscientious workers, so I immediately set up the Asana group and put in the tasks with the help of my team and we all discussed when we were wanting to get these tasks done by while also taking into consideration our other projects that we needed to get done also.
Having the Asana set up will also help when it comes to when we are off for Easter as we will see where everyone is at with their set tasks, they will also see what they need to do and get reminders when its closer to the date and most importantly we’ll see if they need any help.
Floating City: Sketches and Research
To get a feel for Romes architecture and style I did a lot of research into their buildings, architecture and their historical artefacts. You can see this in the below images;
Imaging and data visualisation: Tomorrowland
“What if there was a place where nothing was impossible, where you can build whatever you are crazy enough to imagine, a place where you can actually change the world.”
I watched a movie called Tomorrowland a while back, i’ve been told its not as good as the book but being someone who hasn’t read the books yet I quite enjoyed the movie but will have to put it on my list of books that I need to read. You can see the trailer below. This was very inspirational for my when it came to this project as it shows a world with endless possibility, with crazy inventions that you could only dream of become a reality. I wanted a world similar to that when I thought about a Floating City.
I recommended my team to watch it for inspiration but I don’t think that ever happened to be honest, but that’s okay, life goes on and so does the ideas and endless creation that comes with it.
After watching it I immediately wanted to look into the behind the scenes for it which you can see in the below video. There is one particular scene in the movie that you can see at 1:00 that I was very inspired by for a roman bath house, it would be awesome if we could implement pools like this in the floating city and styling them with roman architecture, looking at the likes of the the Trevi Fountain in Rome as well as their actual bath houses.
Floating City: History of Rome clothing
When we were told to work together with the rest of the Rome groups we split the category up and we were given the job to look up Rome art and Fashion so here I looked into the research of Rome fashion. Maybe this is a good inside to what materials they would have in the floating city and inspiration for interior design.
Ancient Romans
Roman clothing’s were mostly from the material wool, which was spun and woven by hand at house or in a workshop. In some places – towns and cities, Roman people acquire their woolen cloth to the fuller’s workshop to be dirt free and treated before it was finished into clothes.
Initially the cloth was stiffening by sopping it in urine and then it was dirt free by abrasion it with a variety of clay.
Then the cloth was compressed, lengthened and sun-bleached. Fullers also cleaned and repaired clothes for the richer people. Sometimes the Romans comprise clothes prepared from linen, which appeared from Egypt. The wealthiest dress-in clothes made of cotton material from India and silk from China.
TOGAS AND TUNICS:
The basic garment for men was a simple, belted tunic made from two rectangles of wool stitched together.
Tunics were usually made of unbleached wool and reached to the knees. Below their tunics men wore loincloths which were made from a narrow piece of wool or linen, which also have simple cover which could be covered around them or fastened with some decorative brooches at the neck portion.
Imperative men wore a toga over their tunic garments. This was a very lengthy band of woolen cloth, covered around the body and draped over one shoulder.
However, the toga was very heavy and awkward to wear, so it was only worn for special occasions.
Togas were usually plain white in pattern, which were worn by senators had a broad purple border. Until they were sixteen, boys from wealthy families wore a white toga with a narrow purple border.
Clothing in Ancient Roman
Class Differences
Roman dress differed from one class to another. The tunic was worn by plebians (common people), herdsmen and slaves was made from a coarse dark material. The tunic worn by patricians was made from white wool or linen. Magistrates wore the tunic augusticlavia, and senators wore a tunic with broad strips, tunica laticlavia. Military tunics were shorter than those worn by civilians.
Roman Men
Wigs were worn by men as a disguise and to hide baldness. Hairstyles and beards varied with the times. In early Roman times, men wore long hair and full beards. For a while, they were clean-shaven with short hair. About 1 Century AD, they had started to style their hair, and wear beards again.
Jewelry
Rings were the only jewelry worn by Roman citizen men, and good manners dictated only one ring. Of course, some men did not follow “good taste”, and wore as many as sixteen rings. Most early Roman jewelry resembled Greek and Etruscan jewelry, but Roman styles eventually developed. The Romans were fond of colored stones such as topaz, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. Pendants, especially cameos in gold frames, were popular.
Fabrics
Wool
Wool, the most commonly used fibre, was most likely the first material to be spun. The sheep of Tarentum were renowned for the quality of their wool, although the Romans never ceased trying to optimise the quality of wool through cross-breeding. The production of linen and hemp was very similar to that of wool and was described by Pliny the Elder. After the harvest, the material would be immersed (most probably in water), it would be skinned and then aired. Once dry, the fibers would be pressed mechanically (with a mallet) and then smoothed. Following this, the materials were woven. Linen and hemp both are tough and durable materials.
Silk and Cotton
Silk and cotton were imported, from China and India respectively. Silk was rare and expensive; a luxury afforded only to the richest. Due to the cost of imported clothing, quality garments were also woven from nettle.
Wild silk, that is, cocoons collected from the wild after the insect had eaten its way out, also was known. Wild silk, being of smaller lengths, had to be spun. A rare luxury cloth with a beautiful golden sheen, known as sea silk, was made from the long silky filaments or byssus produced by Pinna nobilis, a large Mediterranean seashell.
These different fibres had to be prepared in different ways. According to Forbes, their wool contained around 50% fatty impurities, flax and hemp were about 25% impure, silk was between 19 and 25% impure, while cotton (the most pure of all the source fibers) contained only 6% impurities.
Dyeing
The Romans had to turn their material with a manual spinner. Iron alum was used as the base fixing agent and it is known that the marine gastropod, Haustellum brandaris, was used as a red dye, due to its purple-red colorant (6,6′-dibromoindigotin); the color of the emperor. The dye was imported from Tyre, Lebanon and was used primarily by wealthy women. Cheaper versions were also produced by counterfeiters.
A more widely used tint was indigo, allowing blue or yellow shades, while madder, a dicotyledon angiosperm, produced a shade of red and was one of the cheapest dyes available. According to Pliny the Elder, a blackish color was preferred to red. Yellow, obtained from saffron, was expensive and reserved for the clothing of married women or the Vestal Virgins. There were far fewer colors than in the modern era.
Archaeological discoveries of Greek vases depict the art of weaving, while writers in the field of antiques mention the art of weaving and fibre production. Some clothes have survived for several centuries and, as clothing is necessary, examples are numerous and diverse. These materials often provide some of the most detailed and precious information on the production means used, on the dyes used, on the nature of the soil where the materials were grown and, therefore, on trade routes and climate, among many other things.
Historical research in the area of ancient clothing is very active and allows researchers to understand a great deal about the lifestyle of the Romans. The materials used were similar to those used by the ancient Greeks, except the tilling process had been ameliorated and the tilled linen and wool were of a far superior quality.
Hides, Leather, and Skins
The Romans had two main ways of tanning, one of which was mineral tanning, or “tawing” – making hide into leather without the use of tanning, especially by soaking it in a solution of alum and salt. The Romans used tools that resembled those that would be used in the Middle Ages.
The tanned leather then was used to fashion heavy coats to keep Roman soldiers warm during travel, and in more frigid areas of Rome, it was used during cold seasons.
The leather was not given to the soldiers by the military commanders or overseers, but rather from the soldier’s wives and family before the soldiers left for a campaign. Although leather sometimes was used for protection against poor weather, its primary use was in footwear and belts.
Animal skins were worn over the helmet with bearskins being popular among legionaries and feline among with Praetorians. Ancient Roman taxidermists would retain the entire body and the head, with the front legs tied to fasten over the armor. The animal’s head would fit over the soldier’s helmet, and mostly was worn by the Roman aquilifer, who carried the symbol of Rome into battle.
The Romans rarely used goatskin for their leather, preferring pig or sheepskin, although the ideal would be the preferred leather was that most readily available – cattle skin. The thickest and most durable leather was used for shoe soles – they had to be durable to endure war.
Toga
The variations of clothing worn in Rome were similar to the clothing worn in Greece at the same time, with the exception of the traditionally Roman toga. Until the 2nd century BC, the toga was worn by both genders and bore no distinction of rank – after that, a woman wearing a toga was marked out as a prostitute. The differentiation between rich and poor was made through the quality of the material; the upper-classes wore thin, naturally colored, wool togas while the lower-classes wore coarse material or thin felt. They also differentiated by colors used:
- the toga praetextata, with a purple border, worn by male children and magistrates during official ceremonies
the toga picta or toga palmata, with a gold border, used by generals in their triumphs
trabea – toga entirely in purple, worn by statues of deities and emperors
saffron toga – worn by augurs and priestesses, white with a purple band, also worn by consuls on public festivals and equites during a transvectio
Red Borders – worn by men and women for festivals
A Roman could tell how important or wealthy a person was from their toga. Free Roman men wore the toga instead of a cloak. It was originally an Etruscan garment worn in earlier times by both men and women of all classes. The toga was made from white wool or white Egyptian linen. It was square or rectangular in shape and was worn draped around the body.
The toga was worn often during state occasions. Consuls and senators wore a toga edged with purple. Some Roman senators wore white tigas that were ten meters long. Some emperors’ togas were made entirely from either purple or black cloth. Black togas, though, were usually only worn in times of mourning.
Togas looked like a white sheet 9 yards long. They were arranged very carefully, in a stylish way. Togas fell out of style rather early. (The toga was inconvenient, and people felt the cold when they wore it.) To get anyone to wear them, even very early emperors had to legislate the wearing of togas by at least senators. Eventually, the emperors gave up.
Tunics
The Romans switched to comfortable tunics, which looked like long tee-shirts. They were far more practical. Tunics were made of cool linen, for summer wear, and warm wool, for winter wear. Sometimes, they worn trouser like garments.
Roman Military
Women’s Clothing
After the 2nd century BC, besides tunics, women wore a simple garment known as a stola and usually followed the fashions of their Greek contemporaries. Stolae typically comprised two rectangular segments of cloth joined at the side by fibulae and buttons in a manner allowing the garment to drape freely over the front of the wearer. Over the stola, women often wore the palla, a sort of shawl made of an oblong piece of material that could be worn as a coat, with or without hood, or draped over the left shoulder, under the right arm, and then over the left arm. The palla covered the respectable matron when she went outside. It is often described as a cloak.
Women wore a tunica which was adapted from the Greek chiton. The tunica was usually knee-length. Over this the women wore a stola which was a full length from neck to ankle, high- waisted and fastened at the shoulders with clasps. The stola was usually either white, brown or grey, though some were brightly colored with vegetable dyes. A shawl, called a palla, was worn wrapped around the shoulders and arm, or could be draped over the head. Cloaks were worn to keep warm.
Hats were not worn except by slaves but women were expected to cover their heads when walking outdoors.
Women’s Jewelry
Women enjoyed gazing at themselves in mirrors of highly polished metal (not glass). The ancient Roman women loved ornate necklaces, pins, earrings, bracelets and friendship rings. Pearls were favorites. Women often dyed their hair, usually golden-red.
Black obsidian mirrors were also used by oracles in a form of divination called mirror scrying
Undergarments (Indutus)
Loincloth
The basic garment for both sexes, often worn beneath one or more additional layers, was the loincloth, tunica or tunic. This was a simple rectangle sewn into a tubular shape and pinned around the shoulders like a Greek chiton. Women might also wear a strophium or breast cloth. Garments to cover the loins, known as subligacula or subligaria, might also be worn, especially by soldiers. The Vindolanda tablets found in Great Britain confirm this fashion at the time of the Roman Empire, when a subligaculum might be made of leather. Farm workers wore loincloths.
Official Clothing
The dress code of the day was complex and had to reflect one’s position accurately in the social order, one’s gender, and one’s language.
Religious Ceremonies
laena – worn by the king and the flamens at sacrifices
crocota – saffron robe worn by women during ceremonies to Cybele
Bibliography
“Ancient Romans | Style2designer”. Style2Designer. N.p., 2012. Web.
“Clothing In Ancient Roman – Crystalinks”. Crystalinks.com. N.p., 2016. Web.
New Narratives: Starting the Schematic
Today we started work on the schematic, our first task was to figure out what was a schematic in the first place because it definitely was not like a blue print of a product but Conánn then gave us a pointer and said it looked like the London underground map system.
I then looked up the London underground schematic, which is designed by Harry Beck;
Here is a Schematic on “How Star Wars changed the world” this was really useful for us to see as it gave us a clear idea as to how to lay it out properly and to see how it looks. This also gave me a good layout design on how to make it visually appealing. We could make it karate or Chinese themed.
We started by planning out the schematics by writing out the acts and what the characters did in excel so that we could all access and work on the schematic plan altogether. We highlighted the main story in blue and then the white parts are for the parts that need filled in.
Floating City: Quantum Levitation
Amazing right?
So what is going on here? What we are witnessing in these videos is called the Meissner effect. Once a material has transitioned into the superconducting state (you have to cool materials down to near absolute zero or -273 degrees Celsius) it will eject all of the magnetic field lines from the interior of the superconductor. This ejection of the magnetic field is what “locks” the superconductor in place.
In the case of the video above, Tel Aviv University used the following:
We start with a single crystal sapphire wafer and coat it with a thin (~1µm thick) ceramic material called yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7-x ). The ceramic layer has no interesting magnetic or electrical properties at room temperature. However, when cooled below -185ºC (-301ºF) the material becomes a superconductor. It conducts electricity without resistance, with no energy loss. Zero.
“Quantum | Quantum Experience”. Quantumlevitation.com. N.p., 2016. Web.
Floating City: Rome Research
Rome has made many inventions some of these inventions that they are known for and are praised over are:
- Roads
Paved roads were built on a massive scale by the Romans. In fact by the end of the Roman Empire over 400,000 kilometres of roads were built by the Romans, spanning from Egypt to Britain! By around 200AD there were twenty-nine major highways going in and out of Rome. With the average width of a road being 2.5 metres (8ft) you can imagine the massive amounts of people able to go about their business in the ancient capital. Although there were many purposes for building roads the main aim was to create a highway for the great military machine of Rome to get around quickly.
- Concrete
The Romans being great architects needed to be able to build quickly whilst making sure the building was structurally sound. This encouraged them to invent and develop one of the first known types of concrete, also known in Latin as ‘opus caementicium’. This was developed towards the end of the Roman Republic and was used through the entirety of the Empire.
This concrete was used in many famous structures and has enabled them to stand tall even to this day. Buildings which have been built using this concrete include the Coliseum, many aqueducts and the sewers of Rome. In 64AD the great fire of Rome forced the city to be largely rebuilt; the fast setting concrete sped up the time it took to finish the large project.
- Arches
A structural arch is a structure that supports large amounts of weight. These were used as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia, the Romans however used the design throughout their Empire to create many magnificent buildings.
Aqueducts would commonly use arches in order to raise the structure up for a downward slope to be maintained, allowing gravity to pull the water to its desired destination. The arch structure can be found in every corner of what was the Roman Empire and it has been replicated ever since then to create many more marvels of engineering.
- The Julian Calendar
The Julian Calendar consisted of 365 days in one year, divided into a further 12 months. The months were as followed:
- Ianuarius
- Februarius
- Mercedonius
- Martius
- Aprilis
- Maius
- Iunius
- Julius
- Augustus
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Sewers
The opposite of aqueducts which brought fresh water into Roman cities, sewers took human waste out of the city where they wouldn’t contaminate drinking water. This strong policy towards hygiene would help restrict the diseases which often run rampant in ancient and medieval cities.
During the height of the Roman Empire there were seven major sewers running out of Rome. These impressive structures can be found underneath the city to this day. Many other sewers were built in other large and important cities around the Empire.
I also looked into romantic places in Rome, this could also go under as entertainment, as they are known to be a very romantic country for tourists, these places are:
Campo dei Fiori and the Jewish Ghetto
Ironically, the “Field of Flowers” (as the name translates) is the location where Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in the 1600s for suggesting that the earth revolved around the sun and where Caravaggio is supposed to have murdered an opponent for winning a game of tennis. Today, visitors don’t have to be on guard to visit the Renaissance homes, cafs and specialty stores here. The nearby Jewish Ghetto is the site where nearly 8000 Jews were housed by order of Pope Paul IV in the mid-1500s. Today, this historically tragic area wears a new face and is the location of many restaurants popular among tourists.
Trastevere
In Rome, nothing is more romantic than the ‘passeggiata’ – a leisurely stroll. And Trastevere is just the neighbourhood for it. This quarter prides itself on its authenticity and devotion to Roman culture. Narrow streets lead to quaint homes that display gardens on roofs and spacious piazzas. The original inhabitants of this area across the Tiber have their own version of the Roman dialect and their own defining cuisine. This is the place to experience true Roman dining. Though the ambience here during the day is fairly quiet, when the sun goes down the atmosphere becomes beyond lively.
Piazza Navona
You can’t get any more Baroque beautiful than Piazza Navona. This piazza has it all: three glorious fountains, Bernini sculptures, a lovely outdoor cafe Scene and the magnificent Sant’Agnese in Agone church. In the first century A.D., this piazza was built over the Stadium where Emperor Domitian hosted chariot races and other contests. The most prominent of the fountains in the piazza is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. Bernini created the fountain for Pope Innocent X in 1651. The fountain represents the four rivers and four corners of the world: the Nile; the Plata, the Danube and the Ganges.
Via Veneto
This famous boulevard hails from the 19th century, but it was the 1960s that saw the area enjoy its cultural zenith during the \”Dolce Vita\” period. Featured in numerous films and frequented by the famous, the Via Veneto still has some alluring boutiques, turn-of-the-century lodging, and outdoor cafe, but is frequented mainly by anonymous tourists and business people now. With its grand buildings and trees dotted throughout, it makes for a lovely romantic stroll at any time of day. The world famous Harry’s Bar is located on the strip and is open daily for dining or a drink.
Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Over the course of several renovations and name changes, Rome’s premier opera house is known today as Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, a 1,600-seat venue. Renamed in 1946, the opera house underwent renovations a short time later that remain to this day. Some of the upgrades included air-conditioning, floor replacement and a newly designed facade. Known for its fantastic acoustics, the opera house (originally opened in 1880) can still compete with any other venue in the world in terms of sound quality. Each season features a wide variety of ballet, dance and theatre showcasing local and international performers.
Castel Sant’Angelo National Museum
With its dominant presence looming over the Tiber River, it’s hard not to marvel at the immense landmark, Castel Sant’Angelo. The castle was originally built to serve as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian but in the 6th century, was turned into a papal fortress. Thanks to secret passage ways (as featured in the blockbuster hit Angels and Demons), popes were able to escape from danger to various palaces within the Vatican. Today, the castle has a museum where visitors can keep themselves entertained by the trap doors, ditches, draw bridges, dungeons, weapons and papal apartments. The castle also has a lovely terrace offering spectacular views of the Roman city skyline.
Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps were completed in 1726 and ever since, people have looked upon this massive staircase with wonder and awe. The three flights and landings represent the Trinity, and you almost feel as though you could be climbing toward Heaven’s Gates as you ascend. Once at the very top, you have a breath-taking view of the eternal city, with historic buildings surrounding you and a sea of people bustling below. The Steps are a popular meeting place for young Romans and tourists, and you are likely to see artists at work around the area.
Villa Borghese Park
Dubbed the ‘Central Park’ of Rome, Villa Borghese is a favourite for tourists and the locals. The resurrection of the park was commissioned during the 17th century and used by the Borghese and Bonaparte families. Though, it’s not the largest park in Rome it is the most popular thanks to its central location and its beautiful scenery. Villa Borghese is also famous for its historical buildings and world-class museums such as the Galleria Borghese, a children’s cinema, and a place where you can rent bikes. It’s a great place for a run, walk or romantic picnic.
Janiculum Walk
This area is not easily accessed by public transportation, but the walk up to the top on Via Giacinto Carini is well worth it. You are surrounded by lovely views of the Alban Hills. Make sure that you go to Villa Lante before you leave the area, where you can get the best view of the city. The ‘Fontana dell’Acqua Paola’ is one of Rome’s prettiest and biggest and is the centrepiece of the area. A cannon fires from ‘Gianicolo’ at midday each day to mark this historic battle for Rome.
Trevi Fountain
Thanks to Fellini’s Dolce Vita, the Trevi Fountain has served as a picturesque backdrop for Hollywood blockbusters like Three Coins in a Fountain and Roman holiday and a dream come true for young women looking for love. Legend has it, throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain, will ensure you a return trip to the Eternal City. The fountain is a dramatic aquatic marvel for visitors thanks to its vast basin ensconced between three tiny streets (the “tre vie,”) with cascades of water that appear to be streaming from the wall of Palazzo Poli. Believe it or not, the Trevi Fountain is quite the money maker. Authorities say it rakes in some 600,000 a year, all of which is donated to charity.
Juliet’s House (Casa di Giulietta)
Every year hundreds of thousands of us trek to Verona to see the balcony where Juliet stood while Romeo declared his love. None of us care that it’s very possible that Romeo and Juliet were only figments of Shakespeare’s imagination. This is the most powerful love story in western culture and we all want to live a little part of its dream – though not its tragic ending.
The house in Verona known as Juliet’s house was owned by the family dell Capello, a name not too far from Capulet, right? The house dates from the 13th century and the family coat of arms can still be seen on the wall. A slight problem is the balcony itself, which overlooks the courtyard – it was added in the 20th century. But that’s of no matter to the hundreds of girls who every year step out onto it and gaze below seeking their Romeo among the milling tourists.
Inside the house is a small museum and in the courtyard is a bronze sculpture of Juliet – people rub her right breast for luck. But the ultimate in romantic gesturing is the many love notes stuck on the walls and doors in the entrance to the courtyard. Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Entertainment:
Roman entertainment, like Roman roads, Roman baths, Roman villas etc, is etched in people’s minds today as a result of recent films. Many people will know of the Roman gladiators, chariot racing, the Colosseum in Rome as we have a great deal of writing and other evidence about these things from the times of the Romans themselves.
One of the most famous buildings in Rome is the Colosseum. This building is now a major tourist attraction in Rome. In Ancient Rome it was also a major attraction for those who wanted to see the various events that were put on at this vast building. The Colosseum could hold over 50,000 people and the viewing public were well looked after by the authorities. The temperature in Rome in the summer could be very hot and the audience at the Colosseum was protected from the sun by a huge canopy that was put over the top of the stadium when needed.
Environment:
Geography of Rome is characterized by the Seven Hills and The Tiber River. Rome city situated on the eastern banks of river Tiber has a geographical position of 41° 54′ N and 12° 29′ E. Rome lies to the west of the Apennine Mountains that forms the backbone of peninsular Italy. Being close to the Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome experiences a Mediterranean climate.
Rome is popularly called ‘the city of seven hills’. These seven hills namely, Viminal, Quirinal, Palatine, Esquiline, Capitoline, Caelian, and Aventine were separated by marshy land and the River Tiber. Of these seven hills, the Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal and Viminal hills were portions of a volcanic ridge. The Aventine, Capitoline, and Palatine hills formed the western group of hills. In ancient Rome each of the seven hills had separate walled cities.
The Tiber River flows from the Apennine Mountains south-westwards to the Tyrrhenian Sea after passing by Rome. This river of length 405 km has played a significant role in shaping Rome’s history and culture.
Rome Climate
Rome climate very broadly is of the ‘Mediterranean’ variety. The summer months are warm to mild, and the winters are cold. The rainfall occurs during the winter months between October to January. The summer season lasts from June to September with temperatures ranging between a maximum of 30° C to a minimum of 14° C. The daily range of temperature averages at 14° C. The winter season extends from December to March with temperatures varying between 3° C to 16° C. The months of April, May, October and November are very pleasant with temperatures varying between 7° C and 23° C.
Rome being in the Mediterranean climatic region receives moderate rainfall throughout the year. Rainfall is heavy between October to January, which is about 40 cm. Rome Mediterranean climate being conducive to travel throughout the year is always thronged by visitors.
Environmental Problems
There has been a variety of environmental problems in the Roman Empire, many of which were very serious. Fortunately, the Romans also found ingenious solutions that helped stop the further growth of these important environmental problems.
What are some environmental problems that the Romans dealt with?
- Deforestation
- Air Pollution
- Lead Poisoning
What is deforestation and how did it affect the Roman Empire?
Deforestation: The intentional clearing of forests by logging and/or burning.
Causes of Deforestation in the Roman Empire
- Fuel: Wood was a primary source of heating. Fires were used in the classical Roman bath that generated heat, the making of ceramics, and the process of smelting metal. Mining centers also used fire after mining various metals.
- Housing: The majority of houses in the Roman period was made of wood. Wood was the most basic supply that was used. Wood was easy to get and was cheap. It did not take long to build a wood house as did a brick house. As population increased, so did the number of houses. Thus, wood was consumed increasingly.
- Agriculture: Due to the increasing number of people, the demand for crops and vegetables rapidly rose. Thus, farmland was needed. Forests were cleared away for farmland.
- Military: The Roman army was ordered to cut down forests that could potentially hide an enemy which could result in a surprise attack. In addition, wood was used extensively in the Roman army for various tools and weapons (chariots, etc.).
How did the Roman Empire produce air pollution?
Air pollution was not a major concern of the Roman Empire. However, the air was filthy near urban areas due to various reasons. The air was also known as “heavy heaven” or “infamous air”.
Causes of Air Pollution
- Garbage Disposal: The Romans had problems on where to dispose garbage that were produced by the empire.
- Burning Wood: Fires that used wood would stink horribly. These fires were used either for heat or for craft workshops, such as smelting metal.
- Sewage Problems: Rome was lucky to have a sewage system that drained polluted water away. However, sewage systems would frequently overflow, causing polluted water to contaminate pure water from the aqueducts.
Why was lead poisoning a problem in the Roman Empire?
Lead poisoning was a leading cause of unnatural deaths in the Roman period. Lead poisoning would be a problem in most people because of the contaminated water sources. The aqueducts were effective in cleaning and purifying water sources, but they were contaminated as water flowed out of lead pipes. Thus, even the most wealthy would suffer from lead poisoning.
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